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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — the animal
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. safe — out of danger

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