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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bank — for money
  3. file — a line of people
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. sharp — clever
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bank — for money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. file — a document
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bank — of a river
  15. fine — high quality
  16. content — happy
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. file — a tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. arm — part of the 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