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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: spring · rash · bark · file · cue · bear · game · can

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — a match
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — of water
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a document
  14. rash — a series
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. file — a tool

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