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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. bark — to shout
  6. club — a group
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. field — farmland
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ground — crushed
  11. key — in music
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. key — the most important part
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. ground — a position
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. swing — to play on

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