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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: spring · bark · stick · straw · date · kid · pitcher · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. date — the fruit
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. kid — child
  13. spring — of water
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. spring — a coil
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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