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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bark — to shout
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. march — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — the amount
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. content — happy
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. degree — an amount

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