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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 120 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: chair · band · bark · present · squash · calf · kid · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. file — a tool
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. present — a gift
  8. bark — to shout
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. present — there
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. present — the time now
  16. band — a music group
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. band — a ring
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. band — a rubber band

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