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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. band — a ring
  6. bass — low music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cap — a lid
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. club — for golf
  22. file — a line of people
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — a group

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