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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bark — to shout
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mug — a face
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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