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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: bark · row · patient · arm · clip · branch · chair · lash

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — a division
  10. clip — a video
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bark — to shout
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. lash — an eyelash

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