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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — child
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kid — to tease
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rock — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. arm — part of the body

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