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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 120 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: fine · staff · bark · swing · land · file · pass · track

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. land — a country
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. file — a document
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. staff — employees
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pass — a permit
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — in golf
  21. file — a tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. track — a path
  24. file — a line of people

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