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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitch — completely
  5. present — the time now
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — the earth
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — rain
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pop — soda
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — a video
  24. present — there

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