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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lie · firm · cold · fine · mine · arm · clip · march

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. march — the month
  15. firm — a company
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. fine — all right
  19. march — music
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cold — an illness
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. arm — part of the body

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