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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: cold · bound · file · rule · hide · bark · branch · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bark — to shout
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rule — a law
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bound — certain
  10. rule — government
  11. bound — obliged
  12. file — a tool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — a division
  22. file — a document
  23. bound — tied together
  24. hide — to keep secret

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