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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: band · ground · can · clip · arm · bear · cell · jam

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — a phone
  8. can — a tin
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ground — a position
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. ground — crushed
  16. can — a tin
  17. band — a ring
  18. can — to be able to
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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