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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chest — a box
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. board — a committee
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. key — in music
  14. last — final
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. board — to get on
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. last — to go on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. hand — help

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