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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. file — a line of people
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — the animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitch — completely
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bowl — a football final

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