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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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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: march · pound · wind · file · bark · suit

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. file — a tool
  9. march — the month
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pound — a weight
  13. march — music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. file — a document
  16. bark — to shout
  17. march — the month
  18. bark — of a tree

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