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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: tear · arm · cabinet · coach · bark · snap · club · band

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a ring
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. snap — to click
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. club — a group
  19. band — a music group
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — to shout
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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