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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 · rock · chair · last · row · fall · roll · mine

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rock — music
  13. fall — the season
  14. row — a line
  15. chair — a leader
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rock — a stone
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — final
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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