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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. row — to paddle
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — child
  12. mark — a grade
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. roll — a list
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — a line
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com