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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: row · lean · bark · chair · field · racket · nail · content

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — happy
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lean — to bend
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — to shout
  20. content — the amount
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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