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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.

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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 · clip · mouse · straw · bowl · rest · pitch · cap

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — what's left
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rest — a break
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cap — of ice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. straw — dry grass

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