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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: wind · last · lie · club · firm · bark · file · rash

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. bark — to shout
  2. last — final
  3. firm — a company
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. club — for golf
  7. last — finally
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wind — moving air
  11. firm — decided
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. file — a document
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — a group
  16. firm — steady
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. last — to go on
  21. lie — an untruth
  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