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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: spring · bank · chair · pitcher · wax · craft · perch · clip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. craft — boats
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — a video
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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