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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. file — a tool
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. last — final
  6. club — for golf
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. last — to go on
  9. kick — in football
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. file — a line of people
  13. track — a path
  14. land — to come down
  15. track — to keep track
  16. land — ground
  17. can — to be able to
  18. file — a document
  19. track — a song
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bark — to shout

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