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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. foot — a measure
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — to cut
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. ground — crushed
  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