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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bark — to shout
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fall — the season
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rash — a series
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bat — the animal

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