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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 116 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: spell · net · ground · bark · land · staff · file · board

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. spell — magic
  5. file — a tool
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. net — after costs
  9. staff — employees
  10. spell — letters
  11. land — ground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. land — to come down
  14. board — to get on
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — a short time
  17. net — in sport
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ground — the earth
  21. staff — a stick
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — a country
  24. net — for catching

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