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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. suit — to fit
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mark — a trace
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. suit — in cards
  24. suit — clothes

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