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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: scale · cap · mate · clip · net · pitcher · stem · kid

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a friend
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cap — a hat
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — a video
  15. cap — a lid
  16. net — in sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. net — after costs
  19. kid — child
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mate — to breed
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  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