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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. file — a tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bass — low music
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rash — a series
  12. bark — to shout
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. file — a document
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. date — the fruit
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. file — a line of people

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