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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. file — a tool
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. fine — high quality
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. fine — all right
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. hand — part of the body
  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