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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cue — a signal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. game — a match
  9. plane — a tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cue — for pool
  24. arm — a part of something

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