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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: bark · arm · sharp · club · jam · chest · hide · deal

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — clever
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chest — a box
  6. bark — to shout
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for golf
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. club — for dancing
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. deal — to handle
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. club — a group
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. hide — animal skin

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