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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · file · land · bark · date · mug

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mug — a cup
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a document
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mug — to rob
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. land — a country
  12. mug — a face
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bark — to shout
  17. land — to come down
  18. club — a group

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