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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · bark · racket · march · row · hand · calf · drill

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. drill — army training
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — to paddle
  12. drill — a practice
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. march — music
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. march — the month
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. calf — a young animal

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