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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mate — a friend
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spring — of water
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. mate — to breed
  24. craft — boats

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