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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: hide · chest · lash · arm · clip · pit · capital · toast

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. capital — money
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. toast — bread
  15. pit — in a race
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. capital — a big letter

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