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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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Word bank
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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: degree · bank · row · chest · suit · saw · wake · arm

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bank — for money
  3. saw — the tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bank — of a river
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. suit — to fit
  10. row — a line
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — clothes
  24. chest — a box

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