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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 120 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: suit · cold · rush · swing · present · bark · last · file

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. file — a document
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. suit — clothes
  7. present — there
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. suit — to fit
  11. swing — music
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — hurry
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — to shout
  23. suit — in cards
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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