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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: stick · kick · stand · pitcher · temple · mine · clip · sharp

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. mine — for digging
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stand — to bear
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — in football
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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