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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: arm · stand · ground · cell · bark · roll · snap · mug

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. ground — the earth
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mug — a face
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mug — to rob
  13. roll — a list
  14. ground — a position
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — in biology
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. arm — part of the body

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