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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: row · snap · stick · pitcher · bank · cold · arm · chest

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bank — for money
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. row — to paddle
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a line
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bank — of a river
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cold — an illness

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