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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: snap · wind · bark · chair · pitch · wake · capital · straw

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to click
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — a leader
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. chair — to sit on

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