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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 120 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. file — a tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. firm — steady
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. file — a document
  10. firm — decided
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — a break
  13. firm — a company
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. press — a publisher
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. press — to push
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — a straw man

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