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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 120 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: chest · safe · clip · kick · arm · season · fork · staff

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. chest — a box
  8. season — in sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — for paper
  18. staff — employees
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chest — of your body

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