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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 · clip · coach · field · bat · toast · row · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bank — for money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bank — for money
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. bat — the animal
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — bread
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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