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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: cell · straw · row · kick · kid · arm · bark · rush

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cell — a phone
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. row — a line
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kid — to tease
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kick — in football
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — to paddle

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