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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitch — completely
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bound — obliged
  9. club — a group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — to wash
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — certain
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bark — to shout

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