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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 116 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a committee
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bark — to shout
  11. board — to get on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bass — the fish
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. spring — the season
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bass — low music
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — for tennis

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