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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 116 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 · mark · hand · kick · straw · stem · pound · file

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. file — a tool
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a document
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pound — to hit hard

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