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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. game — a match
  3. snap — to click
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. lean — thin
  17. rock — music
  18. fine — high quality
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fine — all right
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fine — a penalty

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