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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: wound · staff · straw · bear · kick · squash · mouse · kid

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. staff — a stick
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kid — to tease
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. staff — employees
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. kick — in football
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. bear — the animal

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