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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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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: straw · pitch · mine · chest · bore · bark · kick · staff

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. staff — employees
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bore — to drill
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. staff — employees
  22. kick — in football
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitch — completely

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