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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mark — a trace
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mark — a grade
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. arm — a part of something
  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