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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fork — in a road
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. court — for sport
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kick — in football
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — of law
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. court — of a king
  24. track — a path

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