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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 120 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: firm · bark · wake · root · fan · cold · file · trunk

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bark — to shout
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cold — not warm
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. trunk — of a car

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