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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. band — a music group
  4. drill — army training
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. net — for catching
  7. rule — a law
  8. band — a ring
  9. craft — boats
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rule — government
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. net — after costs
  16. row — to paddle
  17. net — in sport
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. drill — a practice
  21. dip — to sink
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. craft — a skill

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