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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — a committee
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mine — for digging
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. board — to get on
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — for paper

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