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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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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: pitcher · arm · safe · bark · season · foot · mine · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — final
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — finally
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — for digging
  24. arm — a part of something

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