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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chest — of your body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. suit — in cards
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. drill — the tool
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. suit — clothes
  13. vault — a safe
  14. drill — army training
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. suit — to fit
  19. branch — a division
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chest — a box
  23. swing — to play on
  24. branch — of a tree

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