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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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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: bark · stick · hide · fall · file · spell

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a tool
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. spell — a short time
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. spell — letters
  12. file — a document
  13. spell — magic
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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