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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: season · clip · fine · kick · patient · trunk · tear · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — a video
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. season — in sport
  11. kick — in football
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fine — high quality
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. season — of the year
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. kick — with a leg

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