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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: bark · straw · wound · game · kick · coach · mine · wave

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. game — a match
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — to shout

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