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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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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: pound · hide · march · temple · arm · clip · kick · season

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. season — of the year
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. clip — to cut
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. clip — a video
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — in football
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — the month
  24. kick — a thrill

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