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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: bowl · hand · arm · squash · last · rash · mine · bank

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bank — for money
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — finally
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — help
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. last — final
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — to go on
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. rash — a series

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