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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 · board · ruler · pitcher · file · cold · race · fork

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. board — to get on
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. board — a committee
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. race — humankind
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a document
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — not warm
  24. race — a contest

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