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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.

Make a worksheet

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: field · file · wind · pitcher · sharp · bark · date · wave

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bark — to shout
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a line of people
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — for sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a tool

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