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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: jam · bark · squash · mine · spring · last · fork · arm

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spring — of water
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. last — to go on
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bark — to shout
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — in a road
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — a coil
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. jam — a tight spot

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