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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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Word bank
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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: game · arm · scale · mark · clip · cabinet · stick · content

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. game — wild animals
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. clip — to cut
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mark — a trace
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mark — a grade
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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