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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. root — of a word
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — to crush
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — in football
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. root — the cause
  24. bank — for money

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