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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: last · arm · bay · calf · band · hand · rush · clip

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. band — a ring
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a music group
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — to cut
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. last — final
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. last — finally
  24. clip — a video

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