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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 120 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. craft — boats
  3. row — a line
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pop — music
  6. band — a ring
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. capital — money
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. band — a music group
  11. capital — a city
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bowl — a football final

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