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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bark — to shout
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fine — all right
  8. kid — child
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. drill — a practice
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — the tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. drill — army training
  18. straw — a straw man

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