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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. lean — to bend
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. foot — a measure
  10. band — a ring
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. roll — a list
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — thin
  24. foot — the bottom

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