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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. file — a document
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bank — for money
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. kid — child
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kid — to tease
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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