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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: rush · squash · bark · wind · kid · temple · arm · cap

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bark — to shout
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rush — hurry
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. kid — child
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cap — a hat

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