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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 120 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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — to shout
  12. key — in music
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — help
  15. key — the most important part
  16. face — to confront
  17. board — to get on
  18. face — to point toward
  19. key — for a lock
  20. can — a tin
  21. face — part of the head
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. can — to be able to

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