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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. content — happy
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. file — a document
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pass — a permit
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wake — a trail

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