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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: kid · object · pit · arm · present · content · clip · pass

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. present — the time now
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. object — a thing
  12. present — a gift
  13. object — an aim
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kid — to tease
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pit — a hole
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — child
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — happy
  24. present — there

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