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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. file — a line of people
  4. season — of the year
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. file — a document
  8. can — a tin
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. capital — a city
  11. rule — a law
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rule — government
  15. file — a tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bark — to shout

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