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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. season — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. clip — for paper
  8. toast — bread
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — a video
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. vault — a safe

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