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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — final
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. last — finally
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. file — a tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. craft — boats
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. craft — a skill
  20. file — a line of people
  21. field — farmland
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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