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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bark — to shout
  4. craft — boats
  5. file — a document
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pop — music
  10. plane — a tool
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. file — a line of people
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mate — a partner
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mate — a friend
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a ring
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mate — to breed

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