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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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. net — for catching
  8. board — to get on
  9. net — after costs
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cap — a lid
  13. board — a committee
  14. net — in sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — low music
  24. pop — music

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