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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. file — a line of people
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — ground
  9. pit — in a race
  10. key — for a lock
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — a hole
  13. land — to come down
  14. file — a tool
  15. key — in music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. land — a country
  18. bark — to shout

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