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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. last — final
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. last — to go on
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. staff — employees
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bass — low music
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. row — a line
  23. staff — employees
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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