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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 116 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bank — of a river
  3. current — electric
  4. file — a tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. scale — size or range
  7. file — a document
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bank — for money
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spell — a short time
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. current — of water
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — of law
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. current — happening now
  24. scale — in music

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