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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. file — a tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. cold — not warm

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