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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. snap — to click
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. object — to protest
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — a thing
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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