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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bark — to shout
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — a match
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mine — for digging
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. shower — to wash
  16. scale — size or range
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. chip — to eat
  19. kick — in football
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chip — for betting

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