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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: clip · safe · march · date · arm · chest · pitch · row

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — the fruit
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — completely
  9. clip — a video
  10. row — a line
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. march — music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — a box
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. date — on the calendar

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