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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: pitcher · stand · roll · craft · clip · ball · tear · object

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. object — an aim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. craft — boats
  6. clip — a video
  7. stand — to bear
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. object — to protest
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. roll — a list
  18. craft — a skill
  19. roll — a cake
  20. object — a thing
  21. clip — for paper
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. ball — a dance

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