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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — in sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bank — of a river
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bank — for money
  20. branch — a division
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. net — for catching
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bank — for money

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