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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: march · coach · mouse · wind · temple · bark · content · file

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — the amount
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. file — a tool
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — to shout
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. march — music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mouse — the animal

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