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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 116 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: staff · drill · bark · rest · straw · cabinet · march · deal

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — employees
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. staff — employees
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — to shout
  12. drill — the tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rest — a break
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — music
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rest — what's left

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