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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a tool
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. present — the time now
  10. wake — a trail
  11. object — a thing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. object — an aim
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. file — a document
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a line of people
  21. staff — employees
  22. present — there
  23. tube — a container
  24. object — to protest

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