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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. staff — employees
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chest — a box
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bark — to shout
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ball — a great time
  19. shower — rain
  20. track — a path
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. track — a song
  24. ball — a dance

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