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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: pit · arm · straw · ruler · stick · capital · clip · kid

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — a video
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. capital — a city
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — money
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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