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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: spell · mouse · wind · prune · clip · toast · pitcher · stick

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spell — magic
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — letters
  10. toast — bread
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — a video

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