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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chest — a box
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — a video
  9. object — an aim
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. object — a thing
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. chest — of your body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. object — to protest
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. nail — on a finger

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