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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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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: staff · bat · file · bark · content · snap · racket · deal

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a line of people
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. content — happy
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. file — a tool
  9. bark — to shout
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a document
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. content — the amount
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — the animal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. racket — for tennis

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