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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: bark · sharp · shower · cap · file · bear · race · wake

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — a contest
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. file — a tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. race — humankind
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cap — of ice
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bear — the animal

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