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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. squash — the sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rock — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — to shout
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. row — a line
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fine — all right
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rest — a break
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. current — of water
  24. land — ground

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