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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bark — to shout
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. board — a committee
  24. tube — a container

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