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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. board — a committee
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. drill — army training
  8. bat — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bark — to shout
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — the tool
  18. board — to get on
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. snap — to click
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bark — of a tree

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