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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — final
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lean — to bend
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. row — a line
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. lean — thin
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — finally
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. last — to go on
  24. row — to paddle

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