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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: staff · squash · last · drill · bark · suit · row · file

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — a line
  4. drill — a practice
  5. squash — the sport
  6. last — finally
  7. drill — army training
  8. squash — to crush
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. suit — to fit
  17. last — final
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — employees
  21. last — to go on
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. suit — clothes

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