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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. key — in music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — to cut
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. key — for a lock
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bass — low music
  24. key — the most important part

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