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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. roll — a list
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lean — thin
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bark — to shout
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. roll — a cake
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. lean — to bend
  16. net — in sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. race — the arms race

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