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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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468
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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. face — to confront
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. kick — in football
  22. face — to point toward
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bowl — a dish

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