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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chair · bark · wound · land · current · scale · game

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. current — of water
  6. scale — in music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. land — ground
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. current — electric
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. current — happening now
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — to shout

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