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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — army training
  5. object — to protest
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. drill — the tool
  11. march — music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. drill — a practice
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. band — a ring
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — to visit

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