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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. land — a country
  11. band — a music group
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. band — a ring
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. file — a tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a document
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pound — a weight

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