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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
468
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: pitcher · wave · last · branch · clip · wind · bore · coach

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. bore — to drill
  3. last — finally
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. last — to go on
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — final
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. branch — of a bank
  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