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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — the animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. degree — temperature
  10. foot — a measure
  11. file — a line of people
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. clip — a video
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. file — a tool

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