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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rock — a stone
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. spell — letters
  14. bark — to shout
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rock — music
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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