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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 120 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. track — a song
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. row — to paddle
  15. file — a tool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. track — to keep track
  18. plane — a tool
  19. row — a line
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. track — a path
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. straw — dry grass

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