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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: staff · bowl · file · pitcher · bark · current · bear · last

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. current — of water
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — to go on
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. last — final
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a document
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. file — a tool
  24. last — finally

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