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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: arm · clip · pound · spring · degree · mark · fork · jam

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. clip — for paper
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mark — a grade
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. degree — temperature
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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