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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're on a ________________ here.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. pop — soda
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chair — a leader
  7. roll — a list
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. march — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pop — to visit
  16. scale — in music
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — size or range
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. file — a document
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pop — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — the month

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