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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: arm · date · tube · bank · pound · foot · chest · march

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bank — for money
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tube — a container
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. foot — a measure
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — for money
  11. pound — a weight
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chest — a box
  20. march — music
  21. bank — of a river
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tube — the underground
  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