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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. file — a tool
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. key — the most important part
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cap — of ice
  16. drill — army training
  17. rash — hasty
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. key — in music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a document

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