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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a document
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rush — to hurry

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