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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: bark · cell · straw · stand · rash · tear · dip · hide

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in biology
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rash — a series
  11. dip — to sink
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — to bear
  24. dip — a sauce

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