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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. staff — a stick
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. file — a document
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bass — low music
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. capital — a city
  13. mine — for digging
  14. club — a group
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — money
  17. bark — to shout
  18. club — for dancing
  19. branch — a division
  20. club — for golf
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — an explosive

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