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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bark — to shout
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pit — a hole
  7. club — for dancing
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. file — a line of people
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. file — a tool
  19. roll — a cake
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. club — for golf
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. squash — the sport

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