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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. band — a ring
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pass — a permit
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. key — in music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. key — for a lock
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — to shout
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a music group

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