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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lean — thin
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — to go on
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — to shout
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lean — to bend
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chair — a professorship

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