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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. file — a tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. club — for golf
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a line of people

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