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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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. row — a line
  4. present — there
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. row — to paddle
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cap — a hat
  10. branch — a division
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cap — of ice
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. sharp — clever
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cap — a lid
  21. drill — army training
  22. bass — the fish
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. present — a gift

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