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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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468
Word bank
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — to tease
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. spell — letters
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. spell — magic
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. file — a tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a document
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — to shout

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