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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 120 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rule — government
  5. fork — in a road
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pop — music
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pop — soda
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rule — a law
  16. file — a tool
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cap — of ice

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