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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for dancing
  6. march — music
  7. hand — help
  8. march — the month
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — finally
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rush — hurry
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. club — for golf
  17. stem — to come from
  18. club — a group
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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