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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. can — to be able to
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — army training
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — farmland
  13. can — a tin
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — a subject
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — a country
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. drill — the tool

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