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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cue — for pool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. last — final
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cue — a signal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — finally
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mate — a partner
  24. tear — to rip

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