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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. capital — a city
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — money
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. row — to paddle
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. row — a line
  22. board — a committee
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bark — to shout

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