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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 116 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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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: branch · race · pound · wind · file · bark · content · spell

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. content — the amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. race — humankind
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — happy
  24. bark — of a tree

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