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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — for paper
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stock — goods
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — size or range
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. craft — boats
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. chest — a box
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stock — shares

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