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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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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: track · bark · calf · snap · cold · game · bay · file

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bark — to shout
  4. track — a song
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. file — a document
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. game — wild animals
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — a path
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a tool
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — a match
  24. cold — an illness

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