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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. bank — of a river
  7. track — a path
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. cell — in biology
  13. track — a song
  14. file — a document
  15. rest — what's left
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. track — to keep track
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tear — to rip

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