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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: can · clip · fall · trunk · pitcher · sharp · rash · spring

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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