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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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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 · lean · jam · ball · bound · clip · chest · nail

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. lean — thin
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bound — obliged
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a dance
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bound — tied together
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. chest — a box
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bound — certain
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — a video
  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