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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: file · chest · roll · bear · drill · wake · bark · craft

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wake — a trail
  11. roll — a cake
  12. drill — army training
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — a practice
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. file — a tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. drill — the tool
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. craft — boats

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