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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fork — in a road
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of a king
  7. file — a tool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — for sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. court — of law
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. file — a document

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