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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cue — a hint
  4. file — a tool
  5. cue — for pool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mate — a partner
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a document
  16. last — to go on
  17. tube — the underground
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cue — a signal
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. tube — a container

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