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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: last · cue · hand · row · wax · stand · bark · game

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. game — wild animals
  3. last — final
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — help
  8. cue — for pool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. wax — to grow
  15. row — a line
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. cue — a hint
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. row — a quarrel

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