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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. rest — a break
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a music group
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — for digging
  15. file — a tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bark — of a tree

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