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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. row — a line
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bark — to shout
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. snap — to click
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — to paddle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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