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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: ground · bark · trunk · game · straw · toast · patient · tear

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. ground — the earth
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — wild animals
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bark — to shout
  20. ground — a position
  21. toast — bread
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ground — crushed
  24. trunk — of a tree

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