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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.

Make a worksheet

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: game · lie · wind · roll · rush · bark · file · cold

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — moving air
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a match
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. roll — a list
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rush — hurry

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