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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: bore · bark · suit · pitcher · fall · file · fork · temple

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fall — to drop
  10. suit — in cards
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a tool
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. suit — clothes
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. suit — to fit
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fall — the season
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fork — to eat with

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