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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. file — a document
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bark — to shout
  10. band — a ring
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — to play on
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a music group
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. degree — from a university
  19. swing — in golf
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. craft — boats
  23. swing — music
  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