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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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 — a part of something
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tear — to rip
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. fork — in a road
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — a group
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. club — for golf
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cell — a phone
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. tear — from crying
  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