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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ground — a position
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. net — after costs
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. branch — a division
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — of water
  15. ground — the earth
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bark — to shout
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. ground — crushed

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