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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ground — crushed
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. net — after costs
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. tube — the underground
  19. ground — a position
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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