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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. snap — to click
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bound — certain
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bound — tied together
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — a division
  22. mine — for digging
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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