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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: track · clip · swing · pitcher · mouse · hide · prune · cold

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — a song
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. track — a path
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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