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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: scale · wound · bark · row · pound · arm · cue · face

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cue — for pool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. row — a line
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — in music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cue — a hint
  16. row — to paddle
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. face — to confront
  19. scale — size or range
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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