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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — a series
  24. staff — a stick

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