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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.

Make a worksheet

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: can · tear · roll · file · net · face · bark · cold

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a tool
  7. bark — to shout
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. net — in sport
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — a tin
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to confront
  19. roll — a cake
  20. tear — to rip
  21. roll — a list
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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