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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: wind · content · bark · race · perch · arm · prune · ruler

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — the amount
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. race — a contest
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. race — the arms race
  24. content — happy

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