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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. file — a line of people
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. march — music
  11. bass — low music
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. plane — a tool
  17. march — the month
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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