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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 120 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: arm · clip · fan · chip · racket · kid · lean · pitch

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — a video
  3. kid — to tease
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. lean — thin
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lean — to bend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. kid — child
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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