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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. shower — rain
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — farmland
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rush — hurry
  24. arm — part of the body

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