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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · craft · clip · pitch · rest · arm · leaves · perch

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. pitch — completely
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. rest — what's left
  9. perch — the fish
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — to cut
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitch — a sports field

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