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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: racket · roll · scale · bark · row · last · hand · jam

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. last — finally
  2. row — to paddle
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. last — to go on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. last — final
  11. hand — in cards
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. scale — size or range
  19. roll — a cake
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. roll — a list
  22. scale — in music
  23. hand — help
  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