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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 · row · mug · ruler · last · land · file · ground

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ground — crushed
  12. last — finally
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mug — to rob
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — to come down
  20. mug — a face
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bark — to shout

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