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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: field · fan · mouse · clip · rest · pitcher · tube · rash

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rash — a series
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — the underground
  14. clip — a video
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — to cut
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rest — a break

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