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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — to bend
  5. root — of a plant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chest — a box
  11. plane — a tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — thin
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. court — of a king
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — a video
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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