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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stock — shares
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stock — goods
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — not warm

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