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

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — to go on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — finally
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — clever
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — final
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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