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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. track — to keep track
  6. board — a committee
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. drill — army training
  10. cue — a hint
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. board — to get on
  17. drill — the tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. track — a path
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. track — a song
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pound — a weight

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