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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. season — of the year
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bank — for money
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — finally
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. season — in sport
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rest — a break
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. capital — a city
  22. row — a line
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. row — to paddle

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