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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · file · bat · wind · bark · jam · mate · sharp

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a line of people
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mate — to breed
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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