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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bark — to shout
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wound — an injury
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. staff — employees
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. staff — employees
  24. wake — before a funeral

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