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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stand — to bear
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — to grow
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. file — a document
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bank — for money
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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