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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: mug · bound · pitcher · bass · mark · staff · clip · chest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bass — the fish
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — a box
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bound — certain
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mug — a cup
  16. staff — employees
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chest — of your body
  22. clip — a video
  23. mug — a face
  24. staff — a stick

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