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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bark — to shout
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. race — humankind

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