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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pop — soda
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — a face
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — farmland
  13. bark — to shout
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. branch — a division
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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