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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — to go on
  5. bank — of a river
  6. chest — a box
  7. bank — for money
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — final
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bank — for money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cell — in biology
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. straw — a straw man

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