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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: firm · swing · content · straw · drill · game · mine · bark

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. firm — a company
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — for digging
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. drill — a practice
  10. firm — decided
  11. swing — music
  12. content — happy
  13. drill — army training
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — the amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. swing — in golf
  21. drill — the tool
  22. game — a match
  23. firm — steady
  24. bark — to shout

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