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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — to shout
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. net — for catching
  20. content — the amount
  21. net — after costs
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  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