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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — a video
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bound — tied together
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bore — to drill
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. club — a group
  13. firm — a company
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — obliged
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bore — to tire
  19. firm — steady
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bound — certain
  22. club — for dancing
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. scale — size or range

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