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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. press — a publisher
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. press — newspapers
  20. branch — a division
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. press — to push

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