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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pit — a hole
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. track — a path
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. track — to keep track
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. pit — in a race
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. foot — a measure
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. track — a song
  21. race — humankind
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — the arms race
  24. season — of the year

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