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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mine — for digging
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bass — low music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. club — a group
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bass — the fish
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — for golf
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. capital — money
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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