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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. sharp — clever
  5. season — of the year
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. file — a document
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. object — to protest
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. object — a thing
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of a king
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — hurry
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. court — of law
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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