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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. capital — a city
  4. clip — for paper
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. capital — money
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. current — happening now
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. current — electric
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. current — of water
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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