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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. tear — to rip
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — to shout
  6. race — a contest
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. squash — to crush
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — from crying
  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