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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 116 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: bark · ruler · fine · clip · kid · march · straw · nail

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fine — all right
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — child
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fine — high quality
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — the month
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. nail — on a finger

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