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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tube — a container
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bore — to tire
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rule — a law
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. row — a line
  22. rule — government
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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