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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.

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: tear · calf · bat · sharp · coach · arm · branch · clip

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — to rip
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bat — the animal
  24. sharp — clever

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