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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. branch — a division
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. scale — in music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. clip — for paper

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