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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 · chip · lean · drill · mark · scale · bark · fan

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chip — for betting
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mark — a trace
  11. chip — to eat
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — the tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mark — a grade
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lean — to rest against

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