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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: drill · tube · chair · lash · wave · arm · clip · mouse

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tube — a container
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. drill — army training
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. drill — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — in a tire

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