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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: clip · kid · arm · mate · rash · wind · fine · track

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. track — a song
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. track — a path
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rash — a series
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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