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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. 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. bark — to shout
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — a friend
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — soda
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pop — music
  24. 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