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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: clip · bark · cabinet · scale · pop · arm · pitcher · deal

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pop — music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. scale — in music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. clip — to cut
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pop — soda
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pop — to visit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — size or range
  24. clip — a video

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