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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — to shout
  3. face — to confront
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. scale — size or range
  9. face — part of the head
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. saw — the tool
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wake — before a funeral

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