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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: bark · straw · spring · kid · wave · pitch · prune · calf

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bark — to shout
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spring — a coil
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kid — child

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