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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — a container
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bound — certain
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. date — the fruit
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tube — the underground
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cell — a phone

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