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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pit — in a race
  11. game — a match
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — goods
  17. swing — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. arm — part of the body

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