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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — a container
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bark — to shout
  6. root — of a word
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. drill — the tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wound — an injury

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