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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: last · arm · cabinet · land · calf · clip · hand · temple

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — for paper
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. last — final
  12. land — a country
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — ground
  15. last — finally
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. last — to go on
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. clip — to cut
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. hand — help

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