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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. snap — to click
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bark — to shout
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — to turn a key

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