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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. clip — a video
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. firm — steady
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. firm — decided
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. kid — child
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease

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