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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lash · game · bark · file · chip · pass · cold · sharp

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a tool
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chip — for betting
  9. file — a document
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — a kind of play

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