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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: bank · fork · cold · arm · bear · bat · rest · rock

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bank — for money
  3. fork — in a road
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rock — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rock — a stone
  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