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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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 — for paper
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. band — a music group
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. clip — a video
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pitch — completely
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — a phone
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. band — a ring

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