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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · rest · chest · present · straw · hide

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. rest — what's left
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rest — a break
  10. present — there
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bark — to shout

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