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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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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: bat · pit · hide · arm · bark · firm · mate · mine

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mate — a friend
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pit — in a race
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. firm — a company
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mine — an explosive

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