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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — of the year
  4. tube — a container
  5. bark — to shout
  6. swing — in golf
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. net — after costs
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. land — a country
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. season — in sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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