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

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. track — a song
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. track — a path
  16. band — a music group
  17. clip — for paper
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — to cut
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rash — a series
  24. fall — the season

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