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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. rash — a series
  5. land — a country
  6. roll — a list
  7. bark — to shout
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. file — a tool
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. file — a line of people
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. land — to come down
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. file — a document
  24. rash — hasty

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