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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. present — a gift
  4. file — a tool
  5. present — the time now
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. land — to come down
  12. bark — to shout
  13. band — a ring
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — a country
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. file — a document
  24. fork — in a road

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