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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rush — hurry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. clip — a video

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