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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bass — the fish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bass — low music
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. file — a tool
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stand — to bear
  20. club — a group
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bark — to shout
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a document

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