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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wound — an injury
  3. toast — bread
  4. tube — a container
  5. bark — to shout
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. club — for golf
  8. file — a tool
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. file — a document
  11. club — a group
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wound — an injury
  17. staff — employees
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. file — a line of people
  23. club — for dancing
  24. staff — employees

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