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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. current — of water
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. file — a tool
  8. bass — low music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a document
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. drill — army training
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — child

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