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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: bark · straw · board · cue · ground · row · deal · patient

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cue — a hint
  10. row — a line
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. cue — for pool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. ground — the earth
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. row — to paddle
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ground — a position
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cue — a signal

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