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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. roll — a list
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. race — the arms race
  13. clip — to cut
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. court — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. wax — to grow
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — of a king
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. roll — a cake
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — of law

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