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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — to wash
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bound — certain
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. can — a tin
  15. bound — obliged
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. shower — rain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bark — to shout
  24. saw — the tool

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