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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: tear · arm · clip · can · perch · bat · kick · capital

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. capital — money
  5. kick — in football
  6. clip — a video
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. can — a tin
  11. perch — the fish
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. capital — a city
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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