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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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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 · rest · cold · wound · stick · row · cue · bore

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rest — a break
  12. bore — to tire
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cue — a signal
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cue — a hint
  20. row — a line
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cue — for pool
  23. rest — what's left
  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