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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — part of the head
  7. content — happy
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — to confront
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — the amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chest — of your body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. staff — a stick
  23. face — to point toward
  24. drill — army training

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