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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 120 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: cold · net · board · bark · degree · mug · row · kick

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cold — not warm
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. row — a line
  9. bark — to shout
  10. board — a committee
  11. degree — from a university
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mug — a face
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mug — a cup
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kick — in football
  24. net — for catching

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