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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 116 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: wake · deal · cap · march · plane · bark · pit · file

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. march — music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cap — of ice
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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