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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. board — to get on
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. last — final
  10. file — a line of people
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a document
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. last — finally
  15. board — a committee
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bark — to shout
  18. game — a match
  19. craft — a skill
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — a sick person

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