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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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 — part of the body
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mug — a face
  4. ground — a position
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — farmland
  16. game — wild animals
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — a subject
  20. game — a match
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bark — to shout
  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