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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 120 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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — low music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. object — a thing
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. object — an aim
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bass — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — a box
  23. object — to protest
  24. racket — a loud noise

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