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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a ring
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. band — a music group
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rush — a thrill
  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