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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — to shout
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. craft — boats
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. face — part of the head
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pound — a weight
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chair — a leader

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