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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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 — in sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bound — certain
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bound — obliged
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. branch — a division
  16. net — after costs
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. net — for catching
  19. capital — money
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bound — tied together
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. capital — a big letter

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