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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. plane — a tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — shares
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stock — goods
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. vault — a safe
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. row — to paddle
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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