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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. scale — in music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. ball — a dance
  10. content — happy
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. content — the amount
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. scale — size or range
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pass — a permit
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — help

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