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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.

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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. game — wild animals
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — decided
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a match
  12. present — the time now
  13. firm — a company
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — there
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — to rob
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. present — a gift
  23. spring — of water
  24. mug — a face

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