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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — for pool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chip — to eat
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. shower — to wash
  16. row — a line
  17. cue — a hint
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — rain
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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