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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: cold · bat · present · bark · arm · plane · pass · file

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — a gift
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — the time now
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. file — a tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. present — there
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — for baseball

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