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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. field — farmland
  4. bark — to shout
  5. key — the most important part
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ball — a dance
  11. field — for sport
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. key — for a lock
  14. ball — a great time
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. key — in music

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