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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: row · pitcher · bark · arm · safe · cell · coach · clip

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — for paper
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — a phone
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cell — in biology
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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