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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 · present · kid · mate · bark · arm · kick · scale

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. present — there
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — to breed
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mate — a friend
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. present — a gift
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. scale — size or range

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