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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bank — for money
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — a division
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. capital — money
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — the earth
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rash — hasty
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rash — a series

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