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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: straw · ball · present · bark · spell · hand · kick · last

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. present — a gift
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — in football
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hand — in cards
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. present — the time now
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. spell — letters
  17. last — finally
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. present — there
  22. spell — a short time
  23. ball — a great time
  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