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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: staff · clip · ruler · shower · deal · season · field · pitcher

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. deal — to handle
  4. season — in sport
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. season — of the year
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. field — for sport
  13. staff — a stick
  14. clip — for paper
  15. staff — employees
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. staff — employees
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — rain

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