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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. row — to paddle
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — to bend
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. present — a gift
  7. bark — to shout
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. current — happening now
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — the time now
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. row — a line
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lean — thin

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