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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — a country
  7. club — for golf
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — for paper
  10. land — ground
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. club — a group
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. date — the fruit
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for dancing
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. land — to come down
  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