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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: jam · suit · deal · chest · squash · arm · degree · clip

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — an amount
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. degree — temperature
  13. suit — clothes
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. deal — to handle
  17. clip — for paper
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. chest — of your body
  20. suit — in cards
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. suit — to fit
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. arm — part of the body

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