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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: clip · hide · perch · dip · arm · net · hand · chest

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — of your body
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. perch — the fish
  13. dip — to sink
  14. chest — of your body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — after costs
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — a box
  21. clip — to cut
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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