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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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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: wake · fork · bay · straw · wind · bark · hide · band

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a music group
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a ring
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a rubber band

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