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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · prune · cell · straw · arm · mouse · bank · hand

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bank — for money
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. club — for golf
  10. bank — for money
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. club — a group
  18. hand — help
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cell — in biology
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cell — a phone

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