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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bark — to shout
  3. firm — a company
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — steady
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a music group
  17. kid — child
  18. firm — decided
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bass — low music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. band — a ring

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