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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: game · stick · pitcher · rash · bear · object · clip · cell

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. object — to protest
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — a series
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. object — a thing
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a match
  20. cell — a phone
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cell — in biology
  24. object — an aim

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