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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: chest · arm · bound · race · row · perch · hide · clip

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. perch — the fish
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — a video
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. race — a contest
  11. bound — certain
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — humankind
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — the arms race
  23. perch — for a bird
  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