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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. season — of the year
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. season — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — to paddle
  10. board — to get on
  11. file — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. board — a committee
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bark — to shout
  23. row — a line
  24. wave — with your hand

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