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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. file — a line of people
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. snap — to click
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bark — to shout
  20. chair — a leader
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. file — a document
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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