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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. net — after costs
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. root — the cause
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. file — a document
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. root — of a word
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. file — a line of people
  24. root — of a plant

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