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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. key — in music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. key — the most important part
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mine — for digging
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. key — for a lock

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