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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.

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: march · stand · bark · arm · season · saw · chest · cap

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. march — music
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. season — in sport
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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