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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: board · bark · straw · pit · arm · cabinet · saw · trunk

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pit — a hole
  6. board — a committee
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. board — to get on
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — to shout
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pit — in a race
  24. trunk — 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