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

Word bank: track · bat · hand · kick · field · bark · bulb · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. track — a song
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bulb — for light
  16. hand — help
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bulb — for light
  19. track — a path
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — to shout
  24. field — for sport

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