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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: mate · arm · craft · hand · chest · bark · vault · scale

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. chest — of your body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. craft — boats
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hand — help
  9. mate — to breed
  10. hand — in cards
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. craft — a skill
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chest — a box
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. scale — in music

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