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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: tear · march · bark · file · bore · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a tool
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. file — a document
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bark — to shout

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