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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. root — the cause
  4. file — a tool
  5. firm — steady
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. firm — decided
  9. bat — the animal
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a document
  14. fine — high quality
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fine — all right
  17. firm — a company
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. root — of a word
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. root — of a plant

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