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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: calf · hand · craft · arm · jam · clip · row · stem

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. craft — a skill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. clip — a video
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. stem — to come from
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. craft — boats

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