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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · staff · straw · last · arm · hand · march · row

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — a line
  6. last — finally
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. staff — a stick
  11. march — the month
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. staff — employees
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. bank — for money
  20. row — to paddle
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — help
  24. arm — part of the body

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