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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chest — of your body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. vault — a safe
  11. clip — a video
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pit — a hole
  22. foot — a measure
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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