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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · craft · kick · ground · cold · straw · bark · pop

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — music
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ground — a position
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — crushed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bark — to shout
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pop — to visit
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ground — the earth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — soda
  18. craft — boats
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kick — in football

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