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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. file — a document
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — in music
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rash — a series
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chip — for betting
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. file — a line of people

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