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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — a video
  9. chip — for betting
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. club — for golf
  17. clip — for paper
  18. track — a song
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — an illness

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