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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 120 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: kick · cap · bark · shower · wound · wave · leaves · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. 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. file — a tool
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cap — of ice
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. kick — in football
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cap — a lid
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. cap — a hat
  24. 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