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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: clip · lash · band · pit · suit · game · last · pitcher

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — finally
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — to go on
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — a video
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pit — a hole
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pit — in a race
  14. game — a match
  15. suit — clothes
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a music group
  18. suit — in cards
  19. last — final
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. suit — to fit
  23. game — wild animals
  24. band — a ring

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