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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bass — low music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spell — magic
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bark — to shout
  22. row — a line
  23. chair — a leader
  24. calf — a young animal

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