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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: wound · rush · chair · leaves · file · sharp · bark · scale

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. sharp — clever
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a line of people
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a document
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. file — a tool
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. scale — in music

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