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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 · chair · straw · bowl · track · cell

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. track — a song
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — a phone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. track — a path
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bark — of a tree

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