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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. plane — a tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. row — a line
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bark — to shout
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rush — hurry
  16. last — to go on
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. staff — a stick
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — final
  23. content — happy
  24. staff — employees

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