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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for golf
  9. last — final
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lean — thin
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rush — hurry
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. last — to go on
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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