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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: arm · scale · saw · clip · land · bat · swing · mouse

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — in music
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. land — to come down
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. clip — a video
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — size or range
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. swing — music

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