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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. spell — letters
  3. file — a tool
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spell — magic
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. band — a ring
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. foot — the bottom

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