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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. file — a tool
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. file — a document
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ball — a great time
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a line of people

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