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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. face — to point toward
  7. clip — for paper
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — a city
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — money
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. face — to confront
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. arm — a part of something

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