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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: tear · arm · saw · clip · ground · mark · deal · pitcher

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mark — a trace
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. ground — crushed
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — a video
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ground — the earth
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ground — a position

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