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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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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 · kid · ruler · stem · key · lash · row · clip

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — for paper
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. key — the most important part
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. key — for a lock
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stem — to come from
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — of a plant

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