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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bank — for money
  5. spring — a coil
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. club — for golf
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — of water
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — for dancing
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — the season
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spring — the season
  20. club — a group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. patient — a sick person

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