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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 · club · patient · chest · straw · hide · spring · wake

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. chest — a box
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — a group
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — a sick person

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