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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — the time now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. present — a gift
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. present — there
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spring — of water
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. charge — in control
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — the season
  24. clip — a video

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