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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — an illness
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. squash — to crush
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lie — to recline
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bank — for money
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. game — wild animals
  24. arm — part of the body

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