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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: straw · pit · jam · bark · chest · fine · spring · drill

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. drill — the tool
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. drill — a practice
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. pit — a hole
  18. drill — army training
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. pit — in a race
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spring — of water

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