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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: clip · content · file · mark · ground · ruler · arm · hand

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — help
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — the amount
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ground — the earth
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — a position
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — a grade
  16. file — a line of people
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. ground — crushed
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. clip — for paper

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