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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: kid · straw · rock · suit · bark · mark · plane · clip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. rock — music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. suit — to fit
  22. plane — a tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. suit — clothes

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