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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. clip — for paper
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. board — a committee
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — to cut
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. clip — a video
  20. capital — a city
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. board — to get on
  24. date — the fruit

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