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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · ground · toast · bark · pitcher · tube · straw · arm

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. tube — a container
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ground — crushed
  10. toast — bread
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bark — to shout
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. ground — a position
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tube — in a tire

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