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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: chip · cue · file · last · wound · bark · ruler · net

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. ruler — for measuring
  2. net — after costs
  3. chip — for betting
  4. last — final
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cue — a signal
  11. last — finally
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. net — in sport
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — for catching
  17. file — a document
  18. last — to go on
  19. cue — a hint
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. file — a tool
  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