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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. file — a tool
  7. dip — to sink
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rash — a series
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a document
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. dip — to dunk

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