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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. net — for catching
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — to wash
  6. net — after costs
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — rain
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — a series
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chip — for betting
  17. net — in sport
  18. rush — hurry
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bank — for money
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bank — of a river
  24. rash — on the skin

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