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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: charge · row · bark · last · dip · bore · pitcher · face

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bore — to drill
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — finally
  9. bore — to tire
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. face — to point toward
  12. row — a line
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. charge — a price
  16. dip — to sink
  17. charge — in control
  18. face — to confront
  19. charge — electricity
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bore — gave birth

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