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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: chair · drill · clip · pitch · rush · wound · prune · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. drill — a practice
  15. prune — to trim
  16. drill — army training
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. clip — a video
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wound — an injury

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