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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: dip · bark · perch · press · shower · file · bass · fine

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bass — low music
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bass — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fine — all right
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bark — to shout
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — newspapers
  15. fine — high quality
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — to push
  20. shower — to wash
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — rain
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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