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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bass — low music
  5. board — to get on
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bass — the fish
  10. staff — employees
  11. row — to paddle
  12. staff — a stick
  13. field — farmland
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. board — a committee
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — a line
  19. wake — a trail
  20. field — a subject
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. field — for sport
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — of a tree

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