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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a document
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — a series
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — a trace
  18. saw — the tool
  19. file — a tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rash — hasty

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