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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: perch · date · bank · arm · last · race · rock · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. race — a contest
  4. object — an aim
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bank — for money
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rock — music
  9. object — a thing
  10. race — humankind
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. last — final
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — to go on
  17. rock — a stone
  18. perch — the fish
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. last — finally
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. perch — for a bird

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