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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: arm · court · lean · bank · hand · stock · sharp · fan

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. lean — thin
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bank — of a river
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — for sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bank — for money
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. court — of a king
  20. lean — to bend
  21. hand — in cards
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. fan — a supporter

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