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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 120 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 · wound · safe · kid · clip · lean · root · pass

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. root — of a plant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. lean — to bend
  7. root — the cause
  8. wound — an injury
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a word
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kid — child
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. lean — thin

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