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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. row — to paddle
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. swing — in golf
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bound — certain
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. row — a line
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bark — to shout
  20. swing — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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