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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 · arm · toast · pound · race · nail · cold · last

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bank — for money
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — the arms race
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. last — to go on
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. last — final
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. race — humankind
  23. bank — of a river
  24. toast — bread

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