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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. shower — rain
  5. bark — to shout
  6. shower — to wash
  7. march — the month
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. march — music
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. file — a tool
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — a grade
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pass — a permit
  24. mark — a trace

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