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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pop — soda
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. chip — to eat
  17. land — ground
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. pop — music

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