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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — army training
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pass — a permit
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. file — a document
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rush — a thrill

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