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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 · last · firm · net · bat · land · arm · tube

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. land — ground
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — the underground
  8. firm — a company
  9. tube — a container
  10. firm — steady
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bank — for money
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — finally
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — final
  24. bank — of a river

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