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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: sharp · pitcher · trunk · wind · bear · hand · clip · cell

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — for paper
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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