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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stock — goods
  8. pop — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. object — a thing
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. branch — a division
  17. stock — shares
  18. net — after costs
  19. object — to protest
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — to visit
  22. object — an aim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — soda

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