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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · bark · cold · file · board · wound · calf · jam

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pop — music
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — not warm
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. board — a committee
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — to get on

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