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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — for paper
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. march — music
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bank — for money
  10. pitch — completely
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. net — for catching
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. net — in sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — after costs

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