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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fine — all right
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. foot — a measure
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. foot — part of the body

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