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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 · chip · roll · cap · wind · file · bear · sharp

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chip — for betting
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chip — to eat
  10. roll — a list
  11. bark — to shout
  12. file — a tool
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a document
  19. cap — a hat
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bear — the animal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wind — moving air

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