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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. bark — to shout
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. content — the amount
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. swing — music
  14. season — of the year
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kick — in football
  17. content — happy
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bass — low music
  20. season — in sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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