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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.

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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: bark · board · chest · safe · present · ruler · row · content

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. content — happy
  3. present — a gift
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. chest — of your body
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — a committee
  14. content — the amount
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. present — there
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. board — to get on
  24. present — the time now

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