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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · tube · pitcher · root · clip · staff · hand · net

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — the underground
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — to paddle
  9. root — of a word
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — the cause
  13. clip — to cut
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — a video
  17. net — for catching
  18. hand — help
  19. net — in sport
  20. root — of a plant
  21. net — after costs
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. hand — part of the body

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