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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. last — finally
  13. snap — to click
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cell — in biology
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. last — to go on
  22. bark — to shout
  23. last — final
  24. cell — in a prison

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