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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 · kid · tear · cap · leaves · fine · trunk

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. bark — to shout
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fine — high quality
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fine — all right
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cap — of ice
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tear — from crying

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