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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. season — in sport
  10. last — to go on
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. season — of the year
  13. lean — thin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spell — letters
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spell — a short time
  20. row — a line
  21. last — finally
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spell — magic

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