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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: bark · bowl · file · root · squash · bay · last · mine

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. squash — to crush
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. file — a line of people
  9. root — the cause
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. file — a document
  18. last — finally
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. root — of a word
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — for digging

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