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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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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitch — completely
  7. file — a document
  8. fine — all right
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wake — a trail
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. clip — for paper
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. season — of the year
  21. clip — a video
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. file — a tool
  24. season — in sport

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