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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: rush · field · shower · press · land · bark · wake · file

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. file — a line of people
  3. press — newspapers
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — for sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — to come down
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wake — a trail
  13. file — a document
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — ground
  17. press — to push
  18. bark — to shout
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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