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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. march — music
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — finally
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bank — for money
  13. last — final
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — to go on
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — of a river
  24. arm — a part of something

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