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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: clip · perch · deal · root · band · kid · pitcher · swing

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. deal — to handle
  3. root — the cause
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. swing — music
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a word
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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