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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bark — to shout
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. fine — all right
  9. drill — the tool
  10. current — electric
  11. drill — army training
  12. foot — a measure
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. staff — a stick
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. foot — part of the body

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