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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kid — child
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. root — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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