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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: bulb · bay · pass · temple · arm · clip · calf · kid

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bulb — for light
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pass — a permit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kid — child

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