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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: bark · straw · kid · pitch · board · chest · jam · ruler

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. board — to get on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chest — a box
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. jam — in traffic

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