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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a document
  8. last — final
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — help
  11. can — a tin
  12. last — finally
  13. track — a path
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. track — a song
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. hand — in cards
  22. can — a tin
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. can — to be able to

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