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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. band — a music group
  3. bound — certain
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bound — obliged
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bound — tied together
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fork — in a road
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — to cut

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