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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · hand · wake · stick · kid · clip · pitcher · board

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. board — a committee
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. board — to get on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wake — a trail

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