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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. branch — a division
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. squash — to crush
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a document

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