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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. row — a line
  3. roll — a list
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. clip — a video
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. roll — a cake
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bear — the animal

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