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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · capital · spell · bark · arm · staff · branch · wound

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spell — letters
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fine — high quality
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. capital — money
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. staff — employees
  15. fine — all right
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. staff — employees
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spell — magic

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