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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: roll · straw · deal · bark · ground · court · rush · leaves

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — a position
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. court — for sport
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. court — of law
  16. roll — a cake
  17. court — of a king
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. roll — a list
  22. ground — the earth
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. leaves — to go away

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