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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 120 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: mark · arm · cap · bark · cold · land · leaves · fall

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. land — a country
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — to come down
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mark — a grade
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cap — a hat
  18. land — ground
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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