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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spell · chest · season · can · file · wound · scale

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. spell — a short time
  13. can — a tin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. season — of the year
  23. chest — of your body
  24. can — to be able to

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