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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: clip · root · arm · kid · mouse · drill · trunk · capital

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. drill — a practice
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. root — of a plant
  13. kid — child
  14. drill — army training
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — for paper
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kid — to tease
  24. trunk — of a car

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