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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: arm · squash · clip · row · mouse · tube · wake · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. clip — a video
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. row — a line
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. row — a quarrel

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