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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: file · fall · row · ground · bark · cap · firm · object

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. object — to protest
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a line
  5. firm — steady
  6. cap — a lid
  7. firm — decided
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fall — the season
  11. file — a tool
  12. object — an aim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. ground — crushed
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. object — a thing
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. cap — a hat
  24. firm — a company

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