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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cue — a signal
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cue — for pool
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cue — a hint
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mine — an explosive

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