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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rash — a series
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. firm — a company
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. firm — decided
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. scale — in music
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. firm — steady
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — for weighing

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