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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. last — to go on
  3. snap — to click
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — final
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. suit — clothes
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. board — to get on
  14. capital — money
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — in cards
  20. capital — a city
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. board — a flat piece

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