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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.

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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: bark · season · march · file · rash · staff · club · dip

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. file — a line of people
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rash — a series
  8. dip — to sink
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. march — music
  13. file — a document
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. staff — employees
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. file — a tool
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. club — a group
  22. season — of the year
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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