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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. clip — a video
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. present — a gift
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — to cut
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. game — a match

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