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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cap — a lid
  6. file — a tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bark — to shout
  9. present — a gift
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. present — the time now
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitch — completely
  20. present — there
  21. pop — soda
  22. tube — a container
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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