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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: chest · straw · bark · mate · drill · can · kid · saw

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chest — a box
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — a tin
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. can — to be able to
  17. drill — army training
  18. chest — of your body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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