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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 · wound · leaves · arm · net · foot · chair · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — child
  6. net — after costs
  7. bark — to shout
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kid — to tease
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. net — in sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — for catching
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bark — of a tree

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