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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. file — a document
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a line of people
  8. staff — employees
  9. cue — for pool
  10. net — for catching
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. cue — a signal
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. file — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bark — to shout
  23. staff — employees
  24. pound — a weight

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