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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: arm · spring · calf · press · ground · bark · scale · march

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. march — music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — a position
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — crushed
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spring — of water
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. press — to push
  22. march — the month
  23. bark — to shout
  24. scale — in music

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