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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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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: stand · spring · pitcher · tear · clip · fine · roll · lean

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — a video
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — a list
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lean — to bend
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lean — thin
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fine — all right
  21. spring — of water
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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