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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mate — a friend
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spring — the season
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. court — of a king
  18. ball — a great time
  19. spring — of water
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. court — of law
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mate — to breed

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