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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 116 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: clip · club · cabinet · mark · pitcher · deal · bay · shower

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. club — for golf
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. deal — to handle
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mark — a trace
  20. club — a group
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mark — a grade

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