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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hand · jam · row · bark · mine · club · perch · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. row — a line
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a tool
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bark — to shout
  12. perch — the fish
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. club — for dancing
  16. file — a line of people
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — to paddle
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. file — a document
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. club — for golf
  24. bark — of a tree

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