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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lean — thin
  7. bound — obliged
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — money
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bound — certain
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — to come from
  19. lean — to bend
  20. row — a line
  21. fall — the season
  22. last — final
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bound — tied together

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