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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. lean — thin
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — a video
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bark — to shout
  19. clip — to cut
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cell — in biology

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