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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: kid · fork · wax · bark · drill · file · board · spell

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — to tease
  8. board — a committee
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wax — to grow
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spell — letters
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. bark — to shout

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