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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: wake · chest · bowl · straw · arm · foot · bark · wind

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. arm — a part of something

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