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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: scale · bark · squash · arm · face · rest · cell · content

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rest — a break
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. scale — size or range
  10. squash — to crush
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the sport
  24. face — to confront

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