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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: scale · last · lie · clip · spell · sharp · file · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. scale — in music
  3. file — a tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. lie — to recline
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — letters
  11. sharp — clever
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — to go on
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — final
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a line of people
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — finally
  24. scale — for weighing

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