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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. craft — boats
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. ground — a position
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — to bear
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. craft — a skill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ground — crushed
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. ground — the earth

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