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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bark — to shout
  4. land — a country
  5. saw — the tool
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. last — finally
  10. dip — to sink
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. last — final
  17. cap — a hat
  18. plane — a tool
  19. land — to come down
  20. cap — a lid
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — ground
  24. cap — of ice

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