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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. scale — in music
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. file — a tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. current — of water
  9. court — of law
  10. scale — size or range
  11. court — for sport
  12. current — electric
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a document
  16. current — happening now
  17. pass — a permit
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fork — to eat with

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