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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. object — to protest
  12. clip — a video
  13. swing — to play on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. object — an aim
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — not warm
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. stem — to come from

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