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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: pound · race · chair · fine · mouse · bat · arm · clip

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fine — high quality
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. race — a contest
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fine — all right
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. race — humankind
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. clip — a video
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bat — for baseball

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