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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 120 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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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: cap · bear · rock · straw · staff · bark · tear · fall

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cap — a hat
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. staff — employees
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rock — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fall — the season
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — dry grass

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