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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: nail · rush · suit · tube · march · file · tear · bark

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. tube — a container
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a tool
  11. suit — in cards
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bark — to shout
  19. suit — to fit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — music

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