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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: arm · capital · staff · fine · kid · bear · clip · ruler

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. capital — a city
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. clip — a video
  9. fine — all right
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kid — child
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. bear — the animal
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. staff — a stick

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