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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bank — for money
  13. row — a line
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bank — of a river
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. degree — temperature
  18. squash — to crush
  19. last — final
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bank — for money

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