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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. game — wild animals
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — a match
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bark — to shout
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. last — to go on
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. last — finally

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