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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.

Make a worksheet

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
YesNo
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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: press · hand · arm · chair · clip · ball · fine · lash

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hand — in cards
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hand — help
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lash — an eyelash

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