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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. key — for a lock
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. row — a line
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — a phone
  9. file — a document
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. key — in music
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. date — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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