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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pop — music
  4. field — farmland
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. clip — a video
  8. rest — what's left
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rest — a break
  14. bore — to drill
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bore — to tire
  23. pop — soda
  24. rest — what's left

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