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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — to get on
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. board — a committee
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. fall — the season
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bark — to shout
  20. file — a document
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bore — to drill
  24. arm — part of the body

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