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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: lash · mate · band · pitcher · kid · chair · fan · clip

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — to tease
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — a video
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. kid — child
  13. mate — a partner
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a ring
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. lash — an eyelash

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