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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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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 · nail · pop · bear · straw · lash · tube · land

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — to come down
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. land — ground
  10. pop — soda
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — a country
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tube — a container

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