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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. file — a tool
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. present — the time now
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bass — low music
  15. branch — a division
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bark — to shout
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. club — a group

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