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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: foot · bat · arm · pitch · bear · clip · present · lash

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bat — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — there
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. present — a gift
  11. bear — the animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. present — the time now

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