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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — for paper
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. squash — the sport
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. scale — in music
  12. track — a path
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — to crush
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. track — to keep track
  24. clip — to cut

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