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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. clip — a video
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — help
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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