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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: hand · firm · march · straw · bark · ball · fan · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. march — the month
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — decided
  13. hand — help
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. firm — a company
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. foot — the bottom

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