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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: bark · fan · chest · craft · stick · bulb · net · straw

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. net — after costs
  8. craft — boats
  9. chest — a box
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — for catching
  18. bulb — for light
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. net — in sport
  24. bulb — of a plant

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