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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. last — finally
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. last — final
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. clip — to cut
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. foot — a measure
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kid — to tease
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — child
  18. last — to go on
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rush — hurry
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. calf — a young animal

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