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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: hide · pit · band · snap · bear · row · last · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. last — to go on
  6. band — a music group
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pit — in a race
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pit — a hole
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. snap — to click
  20. bear — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. row — a line
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. band — a ring

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