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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — help
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. charge — electricity
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. wind — moving air

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