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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. march — the month
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bark — to shout
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. lie — to recline
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. march — music

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