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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: mug · bear · stand · file · pitcher · straw · bark · snap

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stand — to bear
  10. file — a tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. file — a document
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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