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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. mark — a trace
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. file — a document
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bark — of a tree

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