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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: safe · row · bat · land · march · straw · firm · bark

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — a company
  8. bark — to shout
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — a country
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. land — ground

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