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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: bark · wake · lie · straw · staff · scale · pitcher · spring

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. scale — in music
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. staff — employees
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. scale — size or range
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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