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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. row — a line
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. branch — a division
  22. rock — music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — to paddle

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