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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.

Words on the sheet
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: bark · club · bear · staff · file · tube · capital · mine

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. club — for golf
  3. file — a tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bear — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. staff — employees
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — a container
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. club — a group
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — an explosive

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