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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: straw · bat · leaves · bark · kick · hand · pop · dip

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pop — to visit
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — soda
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bark — to shout
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. dip — a sauce

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