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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bat — the animal
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — a video
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mate — a friend
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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