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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. net — in sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. net — for catching
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. lean — thin
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitch — completely
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pitch — a sports field

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