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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: pitcher · wound · saw · clip · chair · hide · file · wake

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a tool
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hide — to keep secret

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