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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. club — for dancing
  12. suit — in cards
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. club — a group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. clip — for paper
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. suit — clothes
  23. club — for golf
  24. suit — to fit

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