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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. rest — a break
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — for sport
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — to tease
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. field — a subject
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rest — what's left

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