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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bank — of a river
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — low music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bear — the animal
  24. degree — from a university

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