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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · stand · bore · clip · capital · trunk · arm · ball

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. capital — money
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — a video
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — a city
  23. ball — a great time
  24. clip — for paper

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