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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: foot · bowl · saw · game · pitcher · kid · rash · clip

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. game — a match
  3. foot — a measure
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rash — a series
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — a football final

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