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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bear · coach · leaves · wake · file · fall · pitcher

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a line of people
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. file — a tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fall — the season
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. file — a document
  24. wake — a trail

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