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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bark — to shout
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. clip — to cut
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. chair — a leader
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. branch — a division
  24. shower — to wash

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