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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: pit · rush · mark · bowl · file · face · stem · bark

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. face — to confront
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pit — in a race
  15. mark — a trace
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a line of people
  24. face — to point toward

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