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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: bark · capital · arm · shower · face · ruler · stick · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. face — to confront
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. board — to get on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — a city
  18. face — part of the head
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. shower — rain

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