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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: march · season · ground · arm · trunk · fine · bark · leaves

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. ground — a position
  7. season — of the year
  8. fine — all right
  9. season — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. ground — the earth
  20. march — the month
  21. fine — high quality
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. march — music
  24. leaves — lets stay

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