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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: pitch · arm · craft · dip · bound · fan · clip · last

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. craft — boats
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. last — final
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bound — obliged
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bound — tied together
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — certain
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. craft — a skill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. last — finally
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. dip — to sink

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