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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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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: ground · bay · arm · cold · wound · pit · wave · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ground — crushed
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pit — in a race
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. ground — a position

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