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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: pound · bore · file · wake · mark · kid · squash · calf

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mark — a grade
  10. kid — child
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bore — to tire
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. file — a tool
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. file — a line of people

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