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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fork — in a road
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. bark — to shout
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chest — of your 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