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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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 — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. scale — size or range
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. march — music
  16. scale — in music
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — a measure
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. clip — to cut
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. clip — a video

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