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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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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: straw · lean · kid · drill · branch · pit · bark · sharp

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. lean — thin
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pit — in a race
  17. drill — a practice
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lean — to rest against

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