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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rock — a stone
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bank — for money
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mate — to breed

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