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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. march — music
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. march — the month
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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