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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. staff — employees
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — farmland
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pop — music
  18. object — to protest
  19. field — a subject
  20. pop — to visit
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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