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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hand — help
  3. file — a line of people
  4. staff — employees
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mate — a friend
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. net — in sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a document
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. staff — employees
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — to shout
  24. staff — a stick

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