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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cap — a hat
  7. file — a document
  8. kid — child
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cap — a lid
  12. content — happy
  13. plane — a tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pit — in a race
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. race — humankind
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a tool

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