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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. club — a group
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chip — to eat
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — for money
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bank — for money
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chest — of your body
  24. arm — part of the body

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