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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: pitcher · bowl · cell · straw · cap · perch · fine · clip

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — a video
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fine — high quality
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cap — of ice
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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