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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 116 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: suit · kid · pitcher · face · straw · swing · bark · ground

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. swing — to play on
  4. face — to confront
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. suit — to fit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. suit — clothes
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. suit — in cards
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. swing — music

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