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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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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: arm · scale · kick · saw · degree · clip · key · chest

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — in music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chest — of your body
  6. key — the most important part
  7. degree — an amount
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. scale — size or range
  11. degree — temperature
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. key — for a lock
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. key — in music
  24. saw — the tool

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