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

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. present — a gift
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. tube — the underground
  15. present — there
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — the sport
  18. tube — a container
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. squash — to crush
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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