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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: fan · last · staff · board · cold · wax · file · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. staff — employees
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. file — a document
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. board — to get on
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a line of people
  20. staff — employees
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — finally
  24. wax — to grow

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