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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. pop — music
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. season — in sport
  8. pop — to visit
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. season — of the year
  12. vault — a safe
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bark — to shout
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a document
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pop — soda
  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