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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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Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — a leader
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rest — what's left
  12. scale — in music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rest — a break

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