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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: dip · clip · march · arm · nail · object · straw · perch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. object — to protest
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — a video
  8. object — an aim
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. object — a thing
  14. dip — to sink
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. clip — for paper
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. march — music
  21. perch — the fish
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. march — the month

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