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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
468
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: wound · saw · clip · mug · temple · pitch · fan · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — completely
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mug — a face
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — for paper
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mug — a cup
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — to cut
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mug — to rob

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