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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: file · bark · rest · snap · pitcher · rush

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. snap — to click
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rest — a break
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. file — a tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pitcher — a jug

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