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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — help
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — a weight
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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