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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. net — after costs
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a line of people
  6. spell — a short time
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. file — a tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. net — in sport
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. net — for catching

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