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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. season — of the year
  3. fork — in a road
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rush — hurry
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bark — to shout
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. chest — a box
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chest — of your body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. season — in sport

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