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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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468
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: pit · bark · foot · row · file · game · net · straw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. file — a document
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. game — a match
  6. net — in sport
  7. pit — a hole
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — to shout
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pit — in a race
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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