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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. clip — for paper
  3. game — a match
  4. net — in sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. can — a tin
  10. clip — a video
  11. cue — a signal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. foot — a measure
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — to cut
  16. root — the cause
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cue — for pool
  19. can — to be able to
  20. game — wild animals
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. arm — a part of something

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