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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ground — a position
  4. hand — help
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. firm — decided
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ground — crushed
  11. last — finally
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. firm — steady
  14. last — final
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — a video
  17. last — to go on
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. firm — a company
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tube — a container
  24. mouse — 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