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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. march — music
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. key — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — a weight
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. key — for a lock
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pound — to hit hard

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