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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: bat · arm · lie · pit · bay · mine · bark · clip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bat — the animal
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — a video
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bat — for baseball

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