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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. 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 — a dog's sound
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chip — to eat
  4. pop — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bound — certain
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chip — for betting
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pop — soda
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bound — tied together
  24. 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