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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. wake — a trail
  3. scale — size or range
  4. row — a line
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pop — soda
  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