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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: bark · foot · pitch · arm · clip · band · saw · patient

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. band — a ring
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — the tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pitch — a sports field

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