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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. hand — help
  11. stock — shares
  12. kick — in football
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stock — goods
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. club — for golf
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a tool
  24. plane — a tool

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