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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rush — hurry
  17. shower — rain
  18. net — for catching
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — in sport
  21. deal — to handle
  22. net — after costs
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. rush — a thrill

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