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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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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 · face · calf · bore · squash · fork · content · bark

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bore — to drill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. face — to point toward
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. bore — to tire
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fork — in a road
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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