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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: bowl · stick · file · cell · bark · present · fan · nail

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. present — there
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. file — a tool

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