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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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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: tear · nail · mark · cold · file · bay · present · bark

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — not warm
  4. present — a gift
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — from crying
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. tear — to rip
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. present — there
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. mark — a trace

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