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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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468
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: net · march · arm · cold · foot · bulb · bank · clip

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — in sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bank — of a river
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — for catching
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. net — after costs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bulb — for light
  24. foot — a measure

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