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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. current — electric
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. current — happening now
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — to come from
  12. present — a gift
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — a video
  15. present — the time now
  16. current — of water
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitch — completely
  24. present — there

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