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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. track — a path
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. season — in sport
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. file — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — of the year
  15. rock — a stone
  16. track — a song
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rock — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. branch — a division
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — a tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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