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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: kid · sharp · branch · straw · bark · lie · hide · pound

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. lie — to recline
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. sharp — clever
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. branch — a division
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. bark — to shout
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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