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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. file — a line of people
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. land — a country
  23. bark — to shout
  24. march — music

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