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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. scale — in music
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. land — ground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. drill — army training
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — a country
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — size or range
  24. land — to come down

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