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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 · rock · fall · bat · bound · dip · clip · chest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — the animal
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fall — the season
  16. rock — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. dip — to sink
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — a box
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — of your body

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