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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. content — the amount
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. net — for catching
  8. field — for sport
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. net — after costs
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pound — a weight
  20. net — in sport
  21. pit — in a race
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. pit — a hole

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