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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rock — a stone
  5. row — to paddle
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ball — a great time
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a ring
  15. ball — a dance
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. swing — music
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rock — music

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