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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: bark · stick · hide · fall · file · spell · mate · clip

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — to breed
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fall — the season
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spell — letters
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — a video
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spell — magic
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hide — to keep secret

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