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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — a country
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fine — high quality
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bound — certain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fine — all right
  24. pitcher — a jug

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