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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 120 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: bank · perch · court · file · straw · season · last · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. season — of the year
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. court — of law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bank — for money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — of a king
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bank — for money
  16. file — a tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a line of people
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bank — of a river
  24. file — a document

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