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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. snap — to click
  4. file — a tool
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tube — a container
  13. field — farmland
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. tube — the underground

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