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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. rest — a break
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. can — a tin
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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