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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: calf · pitcher · cell · lash · clip · pound

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — of the leg

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