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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pass — a permit
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — to cut

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