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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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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: cell · fall · arm · snap · clip · sharp · march · bore

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fall — to drop
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. march — music
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to click
  16. fall — the season
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — a phone
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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