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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 120 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: wound · swing · bark · arm · ruler · field · chair · foot

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — for sport
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. swing — music
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — a subject
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. field — farmland
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chair — to sit on

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