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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: wind · kick · file · straw · wave · rash · bark · kid

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. file — a tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. file — a document
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kick — in football
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rash — a series
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rash — hasty

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