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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rock — music
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — a country
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. tube — a container
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — of a tree

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