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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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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 · pit · hand · bark · roll · root · rash · pound

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. hand — help
  4. root — of a word
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rash — a series
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rash — hasty
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. root — the cause
  14. pit — in a race
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bark — of a tree

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