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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ground — a position
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a line
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. file — a tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bark — to shout
  15. date — the fruit
  16. file — a document
  17. rest — a break
  18. 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