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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. court — of law
  8. rest — a break
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. court — for sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — final
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. court — of a king
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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