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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mate — a partner
  3. file — a document
  4. staff — a stick
  5. season — in sport
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bark — to shout

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