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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. drill — army training
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bank — for money
  7. net — in sport
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bank — of a river
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bank — for money
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. drill — a practice
  15. net — after costs
  16. pop — music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. net — for catching
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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