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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. fine — all right
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — a country
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. firm — a company
  9. chest — a box
  10. scale — in music
  11. land — ground
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. firm — steady
  20. track — a path
  21. scale — size or range
  22. firm — decided
  23. track — to keep track
  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