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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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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: hand · cell · lie · bark · straw · bear · prune · lean

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. prune — to trim
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lean — thin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hand — help
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lean — to bend
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — part of the body

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