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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
468
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: bark · land · rash · stick · lean · hand · straw · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. land — to come down
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — ground
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bark — to shout
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. land — a country
  23. rash — a series
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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