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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pop — to visit
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. file — a document
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rule — government
  13. tube — a container
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — soda
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pop — music
  24. nail — on a finger

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