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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: straw · chip · mug · degree · patient · bark · roll · fall

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — from a university
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — to rob
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chip — for betting
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. roll — a list
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. degree — an amount
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bark — to shout
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — temperature
  24. patient — a sick person

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