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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. object — to protest
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. object — an aim
  12. content — the amount
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. object — a thing
  17. row — a line
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. content — happy
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — to shout
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. tear — to rip
  24. clip — for paper

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