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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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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: straw · wind · bear · bark · bat · mouse · board · hand

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. hand — in cards
  4. board — a committee
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — part of the body

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