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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: rest · jam · pitcher · clip · pass · mine · chest · track

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a song
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pass — a permit
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — a video
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. rest — a break
  16. track — a path
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chest — of your 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