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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. drill — a practice
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — the tool
  8. content — happy
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. spring — the season
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. content — the amount
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. board — a committee
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. spring — of water

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