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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: leaves · rock · bark · rule · fork · arm · bat · race

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rock — music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rule — a law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bark — to shout
  20. race — a contest
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rock — to move gently

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