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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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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: wind · row · pitcher · object · cue · clip · bowl · race

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. cue — a hint
  18. race — a contest
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. clip — a video
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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