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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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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: wound · clip · hand · key · straw · calf · swing · arm

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. swing — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wound — an injury
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — in music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — a video

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