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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. staff — employees
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rock — music
  8. content — the amount
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. staff — a stick
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rock — a stone
  18. staff — employees
  19. row — a line
  20. content — happy
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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