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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · calf · clip · rush · arm · mine · band · race

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a ring
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — a video
  15. mine — for digging
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. band — a music group
  24. calf — a young animal

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