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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · row · chair · last · bound · mug · prune · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — finally
  5. mug — a cup
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mug — to rob
  10. last — to go on
  11. mug — a face
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — to trim
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. last — final
  24. row — a line

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