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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bound — tied together
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — a series
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bound — obliged
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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