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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: bore · hide · rest · chip · spell · row · last · bark

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — to go on
  5. rest — a break
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spell — letters
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bore — to tire
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — final
  19. bore — to drill
  20. last — finally
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spell — magic
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chip — to eat

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