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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — the time now
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — a gift
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — there
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. lie — an untruth

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