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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. club — a group
  3. cue — a signal
  4. file — a document
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — humankind
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. race — the arms race
  14. content — happy
  15. race — a contest
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cue — for pool

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