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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — a line
  4. saw — the tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. face — to confront
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. charge — a price
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. charge — in control
  15. row — to paddle
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. spell — magic
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bark — to shout
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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