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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. land — to come down
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — music
  15. bark — to shout
  16. root — the cause
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — ground
  19. plane — a tool
  20. root — of a word
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pitcher — a jug

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