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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 116 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: ruler · spring · bark · file · cold · club · rush · pound

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. spring — of water
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. file — a line of people
  8. club — a group
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. file — a document
  11. spring — the season
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pound — a weight
  21. club — for golf
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cold — not warm
  24. club — for dancing

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