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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — to go on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. can — to be able to
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. can — a tin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bark — to shout
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. can — a tin
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a line of people
  23. last — final
  24. mouse — the animal

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