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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cue — a hint
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bear — the animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — help
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — a subject
  23. cue — a signal
  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