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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: squash · arm · staff · pass · bay · clip · kid · ground

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — a position
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pass — a permit
  18. kid — child
  19. staff — employees
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. ground — crushed
  23. squash — the sport
  24. staff — a stick

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