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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rule — a law
  6. hand — help
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — government
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fall — to drop
  16. season — in sport
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fall — the season

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