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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. roll — a cake
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. roll — a list
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bark — to shout
  9. file — a document
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. hand — help
  13. last — to go on
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — final
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — finally
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mate — a partner

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