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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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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: face · rest · bark · squash · bay · pitcher · straw · snap

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rest — what's left
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — to crush
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bark — to shout

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