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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: bore · bass · swing · staff · pitcher · clip · track · hand

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bass — low music
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. staff — employees
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. track — a song
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bore — to drill
  21. track — to keep track
  22. swing — music
  23. staff — employees
  24. track — a path

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