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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pop — soda
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. season — of the year
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bass — low music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pop — to visit
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. season — in sport
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. band — a music group
  24. temple — a place of worship

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