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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: bark · calf · pound · rest · file · rash · wound · pitch

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — a break
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a document
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitch — completely
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wound — an injury

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