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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bank — for money
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — a line
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. chip — for betting

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