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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. season — in sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. game — a match
  6. season — of the year
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spell — magic
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ball — a great time
  24. sharp — clever

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