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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. fall — to drop
  10. toast — bread
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. march — music
  18. foot — a measure
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — a weight
  24. foot — the bottom

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