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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rock — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bark — to shout
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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