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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. court — of law
  4. last — final
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — of a king
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. last — finally
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — to go on
  21. staff — employees
  22. swing — music
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. staff — a stick

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