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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
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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: spring · straw · band · bark · staff · pitcher · bowl · tear

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. staff — employees
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — of water
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — the season

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