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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ball — a dance
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spell — magic
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — shares
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stock — goods
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chest — a box
  24. bark — to shout

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