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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — a coil
  4. drill — the tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bass — low music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — of water
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — the fish
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to sink
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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